


Le Onde

by tedzitoki



Category: K-pop, Winner (Band), YG Entertainment | YG Family
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fantasy, M/M, Supernatural Elements, mermaid, namsong - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 23:00:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8508865
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tedzitoki/pseuds/tedzitoki
Summary: A story about a corrupted captain and a green-eyed siren.





	

 

 

 _“Magnificent?_ _”_

_“Indeed they are. Legend tells, once, there was a God named Jinu, son of the King of the Gods. Extraordinaire beauty - doomed to be kept hidden, no lie. The most beautiful eyes, the most enchanting skin you would ever see, the voice of an angel that you would want to hear every passing day. Long story short, my friend, some creatures were ready to come from hell to steal him away from his holy land.”_

_“Ahh, where do I find a beauty like this? Look at all these maidens.”_

_“Look at yourself, you one-eyed fool.”_

_“Cheers to that,” two tankards smashed together, spilling the liquid on the wooden table._

 

_“Continue your tale.”_

_“This is not a tale, my good friend. This is a part of our history,” the man snorted and spit some saliva on the floor. “Jinu’s mother, powerful Queen and sorceress, made sure to protect her lovely son, by surrounding him with creatures, who took any foolish man’s, trying to approach him, soul. But Jinu’s mother forgot one important thing – those who lived in the Underworld, did not have souls,” the raspy voice’s owner took a serious, silent tone before clearing his throat._

_“Using all his power, the mighty Meta, the King of the Underworld as you heard well, fella, abducted Jinu and took him to the darkness. The God’s creatures got exiled to the seas for no living man’s soul would ever pass them. But those creatures…” He drew closer to the half-drunk man just across the table from him, “Those creatures were Sirens!” He smashed his tankard, laughing in victory._

_“Same Sirens that we fear to this day. Magnificent, is it not? Legend says that the reason they still lure in the seas is because they are trying to find their lost God.”_

_Another man loudly gasped._

Bullshit.

 

He bitterly snickered, swirling couple of rings on his index finger. Only drunk fools believed in fairy tales, and legends, and Gods. Only those who hadn’t seen the reality.

 

This was a messy, corrupted, twisted world that he had displeasure to exist in.

 

Gold and titles. Titles and gold. Maybe one fuck or two. _That_ was what the world was about. And he ought to survive in it.

 

Sirens were “magnificent”? No. They were disgusting. Heartless creatures, disguised in beautiful bodies and unblemished faces.

 

Magical? Who in the hell knew. There was no magic left in this world, even if it possibly existed a long time ago. Crazy fake magicians, freak shows and poor, delusional, fanatic commoners who believed that the Sirens were special – the only aberrant things that surrounded the cynical man.

 

His trade was easy: find the vile fish tail, how he liked to call them, capture it and sell it. That was his way of living and not even once he felt bad. Not even after all those circus shows he attended to check how his prey was doing. Or more likely – how it was dying.

 

For some people, circus was happiness and some sort of excitement and an escape from this pathetic world, but for Sirens – it meant death. It was becoming a game in this community, large amounts of money were offered for those who gave their guesses of how long the creature could survive without food. And it seemed like every customer enjoyed seeing those wailing _things_ fighting for their last breaths. The man had no pleasure in that either, yet some sort of relief that no more sailors would be lured into charming traps could be felt even for him. Not that much though. In the end, he didn’t care about them either. But it was still better than letting those animalistic creatures with no hearts live and kill. Probably.

 

“ _I am in love already._ ”

 

The man cringed. Indeed their beauty was spectacular, but it wasn’t _real_.

 

“It’s all settled.”

 

Mino looked up at the sailor who stood in front of his small table, located in the corner of the tavern. The man finished off his drink with the last gulp and stood up, fixing the sloppy double shoulder belt and letting the fingers lightly brush against two pistols that were securely, sometimes not really, placed in holsters.

 

“Nets and crates ready?”

 

“Yes, Captain!” The smelly man shouted, earning a snigger from his “captain”.

 

He was no captain and he knew it. As ridiculous as it sounded, in this world where heroes did not exist, Mino – how he wanted to be called; still believed that in order to be titled a captain you had to have some honour. And his was long gone. Maybe it was never there in the first place.

 

“Captain” Song Mino was just a man with one goal – to survive. And if that meant being one of those now infamous Siren hunters - then be it.

 

“Let’s get to it then, shall we?” Mino rubbed his hands together in anticipation. It was time to make some gold. His rum stack was getting low.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mino was playing with his maps in the cabin, little lantern on the table, bottle of rum as a rule too. It has been almost a week since they started their journey, yet not even a glimpse of the deadly creatures.

 

Hunting them was becoming more and more popular for all the local shores and cliffs were unoccupied long time ago. With every single trip, Mino had to sail further and further in order to find the sirens.

 

His cabin’s door was roughly slammed open and a frantic man, quite a new member of the crew, ran inside.

 

“We believe we are here, Captain!”

 

Oh. This was faster than he expected. And according to his map that he had been keeping a track of for a long time, there shouldn’t have been any sirens in the area. Not yet.

 

Mino stepped outside to the deck and gazed into the horizon. Yes, it was getting foggy and damp and yes, it only meant one thing – death. Sadly, not for the greedy people on this ship.

 

“Come on, put them in,” he ordered, putting in the earplugs that all the people in this similar craft had. Hearing a siren was the only way for them to win, other than that - they were disgusting when muted.  The creatures were nothing without their sweet voices. They couldn’t even talk.

 

The fog was getting really thick and the atmosphere so damp, to the point of being sticky. It was just a matter of minutes, Mino concluded, and, of course, he was right.

 

His eyes set on the water when he saw what it seemed like a splash further away, he checked his compass which was showing East now. Mino narrowed his eyes, trying to see through the thick white cloud and noticed a rocky shore, huge cliff just above.

 

He turned around with a faint smile and eyed his crew. Even though they were safe without their hearing, he could sense the tension and far too many breaths that were kept unreleased. Mino nodded, notifying them that it was happening, indeed.

 

There it was. He could see a shadow under the water approaching. Usually, sirens attacked in groups and this was oddly suspicious already as of why would only one go for a fairly big ship.

 

The first thing Mino saw was the tail. It was nothing like he had seen before. Usually, fish scale were silver, grey, shiny blue, slightly golden if lucky. But never in his life the man laid his eyes on this kind of. Amidst the dark water and gloomy atmosphere, he could see bright green, that looked like blue with every splash, but then turned green again. It was glistering and not because of the wetness, but purely for how shiny it was. It seemed as if every droplet of water landed perfectly on it, making it look like it was covered in little lambent diamonds.

 

_Were his earplugs not working?_

 

Mino fixed the wool in his ears, holding in his breath. The creature was getting closer and closer and for the first time in many years, maybe for the first time ever, he found himself gulping out of shock.

 

The hair was as white as snow, the skin pale, almost as if he was seeing someone made from pure, the most expensive porcelain.

 

Mino found himself staring at two green eyes. The merman seemed so far away, yet it was impossible for human’s eye to not spot that radiant one. As bright as the sun, as dark as the shadow. The deadly creature was everything.

 

He brought his hands to his ears, blinking couple of times in confusion. Could a Siren lure with just looks too? Mino shivered yet seemed to not be able remove his eyes from the sparkling ones.

 

Just then, he saw two lips moving, saying things, s _inging_ things to make him its prey. Mino knew this game all too well, all he had to do is pretend to be captivated and when the moment was right – capture it.

 

But the worst, the most disgusting thing was that he wanted to touch that skin, just to make sure what he was seeing was real. The man thought he was going crazy and finally understood how easy it was to be lured for all those men. How come he had never noticed how beautiful these creatures were? _No._

 

Mino glanced back at his crew, noticing small nods of approval and only then the captain realized that it was only him. He was the only one who got enchanted.

 

Out of habit, he put one hand on the holster with his gun, as to remind himself the real situation here. Shaking his head after imagining how instead of a cold metal he was brushing his fingers against the soft flesh he sniggered to himself and shot his eyes at the merman again.

 

Only to find himself almost shocked as the creature was already climbing its way up to their ship, more likely – to their trap; after the fish tail disappeared and pale legs appeared instead. Once again, this had never happened. Usually all the men had to do was jump after them, come to their shore and then capture them all at once. They were powerful, yet more than fragile physically. Especially when hungry. Especially without their tails. Yet not even once Mino had one of them climbing up his ship willingly.

 

The white haired siren was still moving its lips and even though the man couldn’t hear the sweet songs, he felt as if trance clouded his mind as he watched that mouth getting closer and closer.

 

Mino made his eyes look drowsy, mumbling some incoherent words, acting as one of the victims of the deadly luring. Was it really that deadly? He wondered how nice it must have felt to have the last kiss taken by creatures like these. Magnificent? Indeed this siren was.

 

It was getting closer and Mino found himself actually lost. It wasn’t just acting anymore. He wanted his soul to be taken if it was _him_. The siren was still saying something, sweet smile on pink lips and arms reaching for Mino. His feet started moving on their own, not even caring whether he murmured “beautiful” or not anymore. He reached out his fingers to the creature’s neck, not sure if he was even worthy enough to touch something precious like that.

 

Those green eyes were even bigger up close, and Mino never realized how many shades green color had. He knew he had to reach for his pocket and put a clothe on the siren’s mouth, but he couldn’t. On the contrary, he was leaning into the coldness, eyes set on the lips that were parted, ready to take his.

 

Suddenly Mino was pushed to the floor and he saw the men gathered around the creature, in quick movements covering its mouth and tying porcelain hands behind its back.

 

He blinked several times, gulping, once again that day, when the widened green eyes stared at his own black ones.

 

The man was helped to stand up, as he removed his earplugs and rubbed his face with his hands.

 

What did just happen?

 

He glanced at the siren, who was now tied up and noticed that even its body was different than others’. Somehow even with legs, the creature had traces of green on the skin. It looked like ornaments where the hipbones and the waistline were, and once again, Mino couldn’t help but doze off for a minute or two.

 

“Whoa! Did you not put in your earplugs correctly?“ One of the men asked, startling dumbfounded Mino.

 

“What?”

 

“Captain, you almost got killed!”

 

Mino realized how weak he just became and loudly snorted, mocking grin on his lips. “That’s how you act, my dear friend,” he placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and gave him a fake smile. He could not admit that he actually almost lost himself in these delusions of perfection.

 

“I am going to the cabin, let’s head back.”

 

“B-but it’s just one!” Mino heard someone shout in the distance and he glanced back one last time.

 

“I have a feeling that this one is special,” and without further explanation he disappeared into the depths of the ship, leaving the men to take care of their trophy. In reality, he did not wish to be in the same room with _it._ The captain wasn’t sure what happened, but he knew he could not have been lured. No one else on the ship was. So how come he wanted to get attached to that siren and never let go?

 

He clumsily sat on his chair and opened a bottle of rum. He needed it more than anything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“CAPTAIN CAPTAIN CAPTAIN!”

 

Mino stirred from his sleep with his cabin’s door loudly banging and groaned. These past two days have been peaceful and he managed to keep himself busy inside without having to face the green eyes.

 

“IT IS SPEAKING!” the man sounded almost hysterical, “IT KEEPS TALKING!”

 

Mino rolled his eyes and pressed his tattooed fingers on his temples. He was so tired of his crew’s drunk games. Why did sailors have to be so thick in the head?

 

“What do we do?! Hello?”

 

“What do I care?! Do you want me to hide all the rum for god‘s sake.” He croaked with a raspy voice. He just wanted his gold and get out of that deadly sea as soon as possible.

 

“What if it can lure us?! Captain, the men are scared.” This was when Mino shot from his bed and opened the door with rushed movements, not caring about his bare chest and the lack of clothes in that cold night.

 

“The siren is talking?!” He spat and the man flinched. That was another first again. They never talked. They were good for luring and singing only. They did not talk. They couldn’t.

 

Not even a minute passed and he was rushing to the deck. This could not be. The sirens, without water and without food were good for nothing after couple of days. How could this one be present, moreover – _talk._

 

He eyed “brave” men that were standing in the furthest corners of the ship, as far away from the creature as possible. The siren was still sitting in the same position as he remembered from couple of days ago, yet those eyes were unwavering, fearless and alive. They still sparkled and Mino found himself gulping.

 

The captain got closer to the creature with light, but steady steps and crouched down just metres away. He scrutinized the face and the hair that by now had lost its dampness and now was covering the siren’s in front of him cheeks just perfectly. Mino narrowed his eyes and drew his face closer, as if he was trying to see something through the thickest fog. What he didn’t expect was for creature to do the same, before cocking its head to one side, searching all over the man’s face the same way.

 

“You are a weird sailor.”

 

Mino’s eyes widened in shock. The voice… It felt as if he heard the most soothing, the softest sound of bells ringing in his ears. If he liked music, that would have been his most favorite song. If he liked the sounds of waves, that would have been the tiniest one amidst the storm, crashing to the shore and leaving a faint echo. If he had a soul, that would have been his most precious piece of it.

 

He shook his head and locked his hands together before bringing them to his lips, collecting _sane_ thoughts with much difficulty.

 

“Your fingers are black.”

 

The sound of bells again.

 

He looked down to his hands and to his inked skin. Each of his fingers carried an initial of those who ever mattered to him. They were all occupied by now and it meant that Mino would never make his heart warm again. There was no more space left.

 

“What are you?”

 

“What are _you_?” The siren retorted back.

 

Mino released an exasperated breath. “Ho… How can you talk?”

 

“You humans should read more.”

 

The captain’s mind went blank. Not only it talked, but it looked _intelligent_. He glanced back at his men, or more like at shadows of them, trying to hide in the deepest corners of the ship. Great crew he had there.

 

“So why are your fingers black?” Mino turned to the sweet voice again.

 

Sweet voice? _Fuck._

 

The siren was looking at him with such attention, he could not put it in words. It felt like he was somehow communicating with an actual person, which was impossible. They were just _things_ , items to sell… Were they not?

 

“I will ask again. How can you talk, creature?”

 

“Creature?” It lifted its eyebrows in surprise. “I guess I am…” The green eyes set on the wooden floor, shadow of a smile on the lips.

 

Mino clenched his fist in frustration and couldn’t help but scowl at the one in front of him. “Answer my question. Or do you want to die?”

 

The green eyes were on his again and the man noticed how light breeze was making a slight mess of the white hair. It looked so soft, even silky. He never liked silk. Nor any sort of softness.

 

“Am I not good for dead anyways? Do not tell me I am tied to the pole because of hospitality.”

 

Mino gaped at the siren, loss of words. How could it know what was awaiting? If it was the case, why did the siren climb up their ship all alone in the first place?

 

“DEMON!” Someone shouted from the back of the ship and Mino rolled his eyes. He wanted to calm his crew down, realizing how even if big with words, the creature was still powerless. However, his little plan was ruined by an inaudible chuckle and the black eyes gaped at the pale face. The siren looked overly amused, smiling in both, sincerity and… sadness.

 

Mino had enough and abruptly stood up. The creature clearly enjoyed the situation confused men were in and was using it to its own benefit and Mino had to do something about that before superstitions ruined his crew completely. He took some rope and got closer, using it to cover that small mouth. The siren mumbled something and Mino smiled.

 

“Not so smart anymore, are we?”

 

That grin from his face was washed off when he took in those green eyes again. They were so pure, so shiny. He could almost see his own reflection in them. Mino stared at the creature for way longer than he intended to before taking his leave again before silently groaning.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next couple of days were calm with the siren not being able to speak. Mino stepped on the deck from time to time, to guide the ship and order some people around, feeling shivers on the back of his neck surely because two green oceans were following his every step.

 

He never dared to look for as the first time in his life he started to believe that this world was way more special than he made himself think. And it was making him uncomfortable.

 

It was one of those weird nights when either the effect of the alcohol or the need for some fresh air led Mino to the deck.

 

There were hardly any people there, some sitting in the corners, fighting sleep, some silently playing cards, some passed out on the wooden floor.

 

Mino walked to the edge and placed his elbows on the parapet, bottle of rum in one hand. He gazed to the sky and enjoyed the chillness that the night was lost in. They were not far from land. Their job was almost finished.

 

He searched for a lonely, bonded figure in the dark. As always, green eyes were on him the whole time. Mino sighed and before he knew it, he was walking towards the mystery.

 

The man sat down on the floor in front of the siren and rubbed his jaw. He wasn’t sure why, but all this while he could not get rid of the memory of the ringing bells from his mind.

 

They just sat there, staring at each other until Mino sighed and reached out to remove the rope from the siren’s mouth. The beautiful creature slightly shivered and only then the captain realized how unwavering stare was not as burning anymore, skin not as glistering anymore. The green eyes were becoming drowsy and the siren rested the back of its head on the pole. Yet, it was still present, still _there._

 

“So will you tell me what are you now?” Mino finally broke the silence.

 

The siren gave him a weak smile. “I was right.”

 

“What?”

 

“You _do_ have a soul.”

 

Mino furrowed his eyebrows and ruffled his hair. “Can you stop talking in riddles?”

 

The siren didn’t say a thing, but glanced up to the sky before closing its eyes. Mino felt like the world turned grey when the green was gone from his vision. He didn’t know why, but he needed it. He needed more.

 

“Just tell me one thing. How did you lure me even if I- I had protection?” The captain murmured and almost gasped when all the shades of green were the only things he could see again.

 

“Do not think that every siren is the same,” possibly soft lips whispered and the siren shut its eyes again, slightly pained expression visible. Mino knew that the creature was losing the energy. They needed water and they needed food. And the green eyed one was not getting any of those.

 

“Why were you alone?”

 

No response, as always. Instead, Mino got a small smile.

 

“Why do you look different?”

 

The siren released a shaky breath. “They are safe.”

 

“What?”

 

“Black souls will never find them anymore.” Another tired smile.

 

Mino looked at the face in front of him in confusion and then came to an understanding: the siren was protecting someone, protecting s _omething_.

 

“You shouldn’t do this, human.”

 

“What?” Mino asked once again. It seemed it was all he could mouth out. Suddenly he felt how his heart was heavy, some strange emotion of guilt clouding his mind. Did he feel guilty for a deadly creature who took away so many innocent lives? This could not be. This was unacceptable.

 

“There are some of us who can’t even say no to pure souls. You shouldn’t be doing this or you as well might get killed.” It looked like the creature was using its last energy to speak, breaths getting heavier and heavier.

 

“P-pure souls?”

 

“You think we just feed on anyone?” Siren chuckled, keeping the eyes shut. “What is it that makes your souls darken so much? Gold? Adventure?”

 

Mino just gaped at it, feeling himself shudder. He clenched his fist and slightly hit the floor, rage consuming his mind. “Don’t you dare tell me how you are saviours, killing evil people,” he growled, somehow sensing that he was being played with. _He_ was in charge here. He knew those creatures. They had no hearts, no brains, no senses. They lived to kill, to seduce men. He knew. He knew he was right. He had to be right.

 

“No. We are not,” the green eyes opened and looked down to Mino. “We just need to feed and one would be surprised how many blackness there is in a sailor’s heart.”

 

The man shook his head. “Bullshit. Do not underestimate me. I am no pure souled,” he gritted his teeth. Somehow, being called “good” felt like an insult. “In another day or two, you will realize how wrong you are.”

 

“It is impossible to just change one’s soul simply like that,” _it_ gave him a tired smile, long eyelashes fluttering, touching the skin under the siren’s eyes and for one second Mino didn’t care about his frustration nor the conversation. The only thing on his mind was how his fingers tingled to touch the softness.

 

Mino mockingly grinned after getting back his senses. “Oh,” he laughed out loud, “now tell me that you have a sense for good and bad souls and I am officially claiming you a witch.”

 

“… Yes.”

 

The grin that was covering his sun kissed face was gone as quick as a summer’s breeze.

 

The siren sighed, its breath leaving traces of white clouds because of the chillness.

 

Mino watched its movements and furrowed his thick eyebrows. He was not a good person, and this _killer_ had no right to put on a name on his soul either.

 

“Well,” he slightly jumped while standing up, giving one last glance to the creature, “your magic compass is broken then.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Wha- what is this?!” A fairly fat man screamed at Mino’s face, letting some of his spit out. The captain sighed in annoyance and placed his hands on his hips.

 

Mino didn’t wish to stay there any longer. Nor had the will to see _it_.

 

The siren stood there, tied and held by one of his men, head low and tiny puffs escaping the beautiful mouth.

 

After their last conversation, if it was even possible to call it such way when talking with someone inhuman, Mino never approached the siren again. Somehow his guilt feeling was building up and this was unacceptable, hence why he spent the rest of the time back in his cabin, after making sure the creature’s mouth would be securely covered without causing any more commotion on the ship.

 

Yet some nights, Mino found himself staring at the wooden ceiling, images of two green rubies and the sweetest of voices making his breath hitch and feet itch with need to move to the deck and touch the porcelain at least once.

 

“This one talks!” The man from his crew who was holding the white haired one victoriously said. Somehow Mino wanted to keep this part to himself.

 

“T-talks?” The fat one choked out. He came closer to the siren and scrutinized the small figure in front of him. Mino tried to keep his eyes straight, tried not to look at the definition of perfection, but when he heard a tiny gasp his eyes shot to his left. The tanned fist was clenched when the said man started tracing his fingers over the siren’s stomach, where the green ornaments were. How could he touch it with his fat, sweaty and dirty limbs?

 

“I never knew they actually existed…” The merchant withdrew his fingers from it and Mino felt his heart getting back to its regular beat.

 

The captain eyed his prey one last time and stared at the one who would owe it in a matter of minutes. “What do you mean?”

 

“I can’t be wrong. Those ornaments… Only those who rule… Only princes have them,” he explained, grinning. “You just got _very rich,_ my friend. And I got even richer. If I could make it talk during the show it will be even more spectacular,” the merchant’s eyes were dark and greedy, “how did you make it speak?”

 

Whatever else the man was blabbering was never heard by the captain who stood frozen, eyes looking somewhere, but not seeing anything. A prince? The one ruling? He felt his heart getting an unhealthy fast pace again, thumping against his chest with every beat. Mino opened his mouth, but no words could come out. _This_ explained how the siren was stronger. _This_ explained why from the first moment he saw it – it felt different.

 

Mino blinked couple of times, finally clearing his throat after the merchant gave him a questionable look. He knew he had to get a grip. It was just business and nothing had changed in his world. There was still no magic, no goodness and no legends. He was just playing the game of survival, and he couldn’t let his mind get lost in whatever his heart wanted to do.

 

“What do you mean? It talked by itself, scared my men,” he tried to look indifferent, but found one corner of his lips lifting up. Mino didn’t realize it, but that memory made him smile and it was another unacceptable thing.

 

“By… By itself?! I heard they never say a word to anyone, it’s a secret,” the man’s eyes were almost popping out, like one of those freaks’ in his own circus.

 

“It came to us to die,” was all that Mino said, surprising his own self.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Two shaky, inked hands were squeezing the edges of the table in the anonymous inn. As always, Mino sat there as a celebration of his another “sell”. However, he did not feel like feasting.

 

“Captain Mino,” some big breasted maid smiled at him, trying her luck in sounding alluring. The only problem was that she didn’t. Her voice was not two ringing bells, was not the sweetest and the softest in the world. He came to know what it sounded like and Mino knew he would never be able to hear something like that ever again.

 

“Are you staying here?” She started walking around his table, approaching the man until he growled and took out his pistol, pointing it at her as his actions were driven by irritation.

 

Mino couldn’t hear what she shouted, but he was sure “crazy” was somewhere in between the lines. He didn’t care.

 

Another wave of “awws” and claps reached his ears and the man shut his eyes, trying to stop that growing fear in his stomach. Circus shows always ended only one way – death of the creature, and he knew it was not much time left. Mino downed the last drop of his rum and before he knew it, his legs were moving towards the huge, red and white striped tent, where people “pretended” to be happy and amused. Where people hid their sad lives for an hour or two and exchanged them with some laughs.

 

Mino rested his shoulder against the wall, in the deepest corners of the hall, watching the show. It wasn’t something new, same trained animals, flexible acrobats, clowns, then, it was time for the freak show and finally – a death sentence.

 

Mino often came, bottle of rum in one hand, and enjoyed how his source of money took its lasts breaths. No one found it cruel – everyone knew that _they_ were the real killers. But Mino couldn’t believe that anymore. When he looked back, not even once a siren fought back after getting captured, not even once tried to attack again.

 

The man felt how his rage was building up again, but never as strong as the feeling of guilt. Maybe he did have a soul in the end. He couldn’t contemplate whatever that was happening in his mind anymore as a huge tank with no water, but _something_ else in it was brought to the centre of the stage.

 

Mino’s breath was caught somewhere in his throat and legs were about to lose the ground. There it was, sitting on the floor of the glass box, green eyes wide as ever. The captain felt his lips shaking and buried his face in his hands. What was happening to him? Why did he feel sorry?

 

The crowd gasped and soon money was being collected and bets of how long the creature would last started.

 

Mino’s feet started working on their own, until he reached the light from the shadows. He let his arms hang loose on his sides as he watched the siren take heavy breaths, eyes glistering from tears and a feared expression on the pale face. Some people were laughing, some were clapping or gaping, but Mino felt a single tear roll down his cheek. He didn’t want this. He didn’t want the blonde prince to die. The siren didn’t deserve any of this.

 

“Get yourselves ready, ladies and gentlemen! As mentioned in your booklets, we have a special prince today. Be prepared for a long journey,” the announcer explained, standing next to the tank, “this one is strong. And expensive,” he winked.

 

Mino saw huge piles of gold being thrown to the plates for bets. People were shouting, some were chanting. He saw someone approaching the tank with the siren in and crouching down, poking the glass as if scaring a wild animal. Mino clenched his fists. It’s been a long time since he saw some goodness in his life, and the only one who made him feel something other than fill his heart with greed was sitting there, trapped, silently crying.

 

A small girl approached the siren and put her tiny chubby palm on the glass. The creature’s green eyes widened and then a tired smile reached it’ face, before a porcelain palm was pressed against the glass too, invisibly connecting a hand with the girl’s together. Mino lowered his head. How could this goodness exist in the dark world?

 

 

 

 

 

 

The captain didn’t know how many hours passed, but he was still standing glued to the ground, not being able to move nor do anything. Little by little, the siren was losing its consciousness, letting its dizzy head fall down, just to use the last bits of power to wake up again. Mino saw how two green eyes hardly managed to see anything anymore. He knew that this was the end and it was what he was working for his whole life. The captain turned to leave, not able to bear the sight anymore, but his world stopped as the creature locked its eyes with his. The green eyes resembled everything: tiredness, pain, hunger, sleepiness, fear and longing. Yet, no glimpse of anger or rage. And it broke Mino to bits even more.

 

His eyes got watery again and he blinked a couple of times. They stayed like that for a while, gazing at each other, until the siren closed its eyes and rested its forehead on the glass. A pair of lips made the surface foggy after every breath and Mino just knew that these were the last dying breaths that the creature could release.

 

Before he knew it, he was moving towards the stage, two pistols out of his holsters in both of his hands.

 

“Move,” he commanded the announcer who resembled an actual fish, trying to get some air as he tried to speak up, face shocked in the most scandalous way.

 

Couple of men ran to him, but Mino pointed the pistols at them without much care. “Release it.”

 

The crowd went dead silent. Some people whispering and awing.

 

“Hey, hey now,” he heard a voice behind his back and turned to look at the merchant running towards him. “Catch yourself another one, will ya?”

 

Mino clenched his teeth and turned his head to the two men that obviously looked powerless against the two guns. “I captured it. It belongs to me.”

 

“Hold on a moment here, I gave you all the gold, did I not?” The fat man came to face him.

 

Mino dropped one arm and fidgeted in the pocket of his trousers. “Here,” he tossed a sack of gold to the floor.

 

“You don’t expect me to just release it because you gave me my money back? I have a reputation to hold,” he glanced around the arena, “what are you planning to do with a dead body anyway?”

 

Mino jerked his head back in annoyance and sighed. “I said. Release. _Him._ ” He shot couple of bullets to the fabric of the ceiling, earning a fair amount of screams.

 

The merchant’s mouth fell open, the excess of the skin under his chin shaking. “I- I thought we had a deal, young man,” he managed to speak up and Mino shot him another glare. He pointed his pistol to his head, evil grin on his tanned face.

 

“Spare your pity life and unlock _him_ now,” he demanded once again, letting out a slight breath of content when he noticed the merchant’s shaky fingers fiddling with the keys. With Mino never lowering the pistol, he managed to open the tank and stepped to the side, pursing his fatty lips.

 

The siren didn’t look present anymore and Mino couldn’t waste another second. He ran to it and took the fragile body in his arms, before running through the shocked crowd. No one stopped him, no one even tried to reach for him and for the first time Mino was glad he was surrounded by so many empty hearts. He could hear the riot in the back after he left, clearly caused by the dissatisfaction of the lost money that had to be returned.

 

Mino sat on the grass not far from the tent, siren in his embrace and on his lap. He could finally touch the unblemished skin, brush the hair, trace the green ornaments with his rough fingers. However, there was no time for any of that. He wasn’t even sure if the siren was breathing as the creature had its head dropped on Mino’s shoulder, not once moving.

 

“Hey?” The captain cupped the siren’s face with his hands and stared at the face. The eyes were shut, but lips still quivering.

 

“Hey,” he repeated again, shaking the siren’s head.

 

Really slowly, two eyes opened and were shut a second later, long eye lashes slightly fluttering. The siren let all the weight of its head be in control of Mino, who still held its cheeks, trying to wake up the creature.

 

The man heard a long breath being sucked in. “Hey. You have to feed,” he tried once again and had two eyes on his own in return this time.

 

The siren looked so weak. So painfully weak that Mino was sure if he let something so pure die in his hands now – all of the supposed remains of his heart would die too.

 

“Soul…” Hardly audible whisper was let out and rough fingers brushed off the tears that rolled down the siren’s cheeks. It was so fragile, so precious.

 

Without waiting another second Mino pressed his lips against the cold ones and stayed glued to the siren for a little while. The only problem was that there was no response.

 

The man drew back and brushed his fingers on the dying one’s cheeks. “You have to feed, come on now,” he reached for the cold lips again, gaining nothing in return.

 

“Don’t wither away on me, feed, please,” he whispered on the creature’s lips, feeling how his own hands started to shake.

 

The siren took a deep breath and opened its eyes. “You… Will die,” it breathed out and dropped its head on Mino’s shoulder again.

 

The man grunted and took a hold of the light-weighted head again. “No, I am not lured, am I? I will make you stop, just…” He felt his own voice cracking, pain and fear filling his chest. “Just take my soul, you have to.”

 

Another try of a deadly kiss, another failure. Mino kept pecking siren’s lips, but nothing was happening. He could feel how the fragile chest was moving up and down slower and slower, last bits of life leaving the body.

 

“Please…” He begged once again. Captain could not let the creature die, not after he saw the good in world, not after he got to touch _him_. “Take my soul.”

 

The siren still had its eyes closed when Mino started another round of tiny kisses, trying to make it feed. “Please,” he kept whispering in between and for a moment he finally felt cold lips pecking back.

 

He cupped the siren’s face again and waited until the green eyes were in his vision. “I will be fine. Just feed. Take it. Take all my soul out. Just _live_ ,” he said with the last power that he, himself had, as he knew he could not stay strong for the both of them for any longer since his own body was turning numb.

 

The siren stared at him, couple of tears rolling down its cheeks and closed the green orbs again. Mino knew it was the last chance, he was holding almost a dead body in his arms so he pressed his lips on the creature’s again.

 

His strong hands were burning against the cold cheeks when he felt the siren’s lips slightly moving. It was hard to tell whether it was a peck back or just a suck in of air, but Mino pressed his lips harsher, scared to lose whatever response he received. In seconds his kiss was returned properly, the taste of sea invading his mouth. Then, he felt as if his air was knocked out of his lungs. The one in his lap was sucking his life out of him, together with his lips, which fit together way too perfectly. His mind became blank and he could feel a rush of wind being shared in between their mouths. The siren grabbed Mino’s neck as the deadly kiss deepened, his grip getting stronger and stronger with every gush of wind.

 

The captain could feel his mind going blank for a moment, eyes almost rolling back and vision turning black. But then, with the last power he had, the man managed to push the creature.

 

He was scared. Not because he almost died, but because it felt nice. _Extremely_ nice.

 

If he had to choose how to die, he surely would have chosen this way to end his pathetic little life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“I told you I would make you stop,” Mino said as he side eyed the one walking next to him with graceful, inaudible steps. He suddenly wished he didn’t stop. As tragic as it was, he wanted to relive that kiss forever.

 

“And I told you that you are one weird sailor,” the siren retorted and their eyes met. Mino gulped and let himself smile, feeling how his chest was as light as ever. He knew he was not a good man, but he started to believe that he could be one someday.

 

“Well… Here we are,” The captain motioned towards the sea and gazed at the green eyes. They had all of the shades back again and were full of life, just like the first time he got a glimpse of them. The siren smiled, genuinely smiled and Mino realized how it was the first time he was seeing the blond man – how he started to call him after believing that he was more human than anyone he had ever met – happy. He wished he could witness it again.

 

The siren started walking towards the water and as his knees were already covered in water, he glanced back at Mino.

 

“See you some other time,” he slightly smiled and the captain felt his heart hitting his chest way too vigorously.

 

“W- what?” He hardly managed to voice out, not when for a split second he let his eyes wander on the curve of the pale back, remembering how nice it felt to touch that body.

 

“You clearly don’t know many things, find me when you want to see the world.”

 

And with that he stepped further into the sea and dived in. The next moment Mino saw the beautiful sparkling tail of the merman back again, ruining the stillness of the water and he couldn’t help, but smile brightly at the view.

 

“I will find you.”

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was for a namsong fic event that happened last year :) First time I did a fantasy fic and well, even though the outcome wasn't what I wanted (it's always like this so what am I even saying) I still care about this fic a lot <3


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